​Ukraine, Syria civilians attacked with incendiary weapons – HRW

Incendiary weapons were used in recent conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says, citing their own evidence. The organization also reported that residential areas in Ukraine suffered rocket attacks from Kiev’s army.

The watchdog has analyzed evidence of attacks involving
“exceptionally cruel” incendiary weapons, including
white phosphorus. These allegedly occurred in 2014, during the
ongoing civil war in Syria and the military operation waged in
eastern Ukraine. In a damning report, the watchdog urged tougher
laws on the use of munitions.

According to the report, victims of incendiary weapons, which
burn at exceptionally high temperatures, often suffer long-term
physical and psychological damage, as these kinds of weapons can
cause exceptionally painful thermal and respiratory burns.

“Weapons that cause terrible burns and disfigure survivors
have been used against towns in both Syria and Ukraine,”
said Bonnie Docherty, lead author of the report, in a statement. “The recent attacks with
incendiary weapons show it’s past time for nations to reassess
and strengthen international law on these cruel weapons.”

The HRW report recalls two “especially troubling”
attacks in Ukraine – in Ilovaisk, a town 30km southeast of
Donetsk, and Luganskoe, a small village south of Donetsk – where
researchers have documented use of incendiary Grad rockets.

Local residents said that “weapons resembling fireworks fell
on the northwest part of their town over the course of three
nights and burned three homes.” However, the organization
failed to conclude which side of the conflict was responsible for
these attacks.

Cluster munition rockets were used during the official ceasefire
in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, HRW said in a report
published on Wednesday.

The rockets were fired at the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk
in early October, the organization said, adding that the cluster
munition attacks came from territory controlled by the Ukrainian
military.

"The evidence overwhelmingly indicates that these rockets
were fired from the government-held positions,” the
international rights organization reported, saying the attacks
might have been targeting "rebel forces."

HRW says it has evidence that multiple rocket launchers (Uragan
and Smerch) were used in the shelling. This includes rockets
fragments, such as a "number of rocket engines and nose
cones" found by the organization's experts in Donetsk, as
well as witnesses' reports and experts' views.

The cluster munition parts were found near supermarkets and
residential buildings in Donetsk, and several villages in the
Donetsk and Lugansk regions. According to the organization, the
Swiss Red Cross worker, 38-years old Laurent DuPasquier, was
killed in one of these attacks in Donetsk.

HRW is ready to hand over its documents to the UN or any other
concerned international organizations.

"Of course we’re willing to explain our findings to any
interested government or international organization," Mark
Hiznay, senior arms researcher at HRW, told the RIA Novosti news
agency, adding that HRW has not "officially" provided
its information to anyone yet, as it can't force organizations or
governments to cooperate.

In Syria, over a two-year period, HRW reported at least 57
incendiary weapons attacks – strikes on schools among them. The
document cites a British doctor volunteering at Altarib Hospital
at the time of the attack on August 26, 2013, in northern Aleppo
governorate.

“Three bodies were in a pickup truck outside in the hospital
courtyard. These bodies, of three female students, were
unrecognizable due to the severity of the burns,” said
Sahleyha Ahsan. “It was also impossible to tell that they
were in fact female, but I was informed by hospital staff that
they were. They had been in the direct hit area of the
bomb.”

Highlighting the influence and power of the public condemnation,
HRW has reminded about the latest Israeli military operation in
Gaza. This year, the country “avoided use of white phosphorus
munitions … apparently due to a policy change resulting from the
international criticism of its previous use in Gaza.”

Proposing several means to limit the use of incendiary weapons,
HRW said that “A comprehensive ban on the weapons would have
the most far-reaching humanitarian benefits.”

Backing its idea, the watchdog recalled that Russia had voiced concerns at the UN this June that
the Ukrainian government had used white phosphorus against
civilians. This instance, in the HRW’s opinion, can "show…
that [use of such weapons] is increasingly viewed as unacceptable
at the international level."

Human Rights Watch, alongside with Harvard Law School’s
International Human Rights Clinic released a report, entitled ‘Incendiary weapons: Recent
use and growing opposition’ on Tuesday, right before the annual
meeting of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) members.
It is currently taking place at the United Nations office in
Geneva.

Back in October, HRW reported the use of cluster munitions in the
highly-populated Ukrainian city of Donetsk. This kind of weapons
is explosive – and the danger lies in the fact that it releases
smaller submunitions over a wide area.

“During a week-long investigation on the ground in eastern
Ukraine, Human Rights Watch has found widespread use of cluster
munitions. Our evidence shows that the Ukrainian armed forces
were responsible for at least some of these
attacks,”said Ole Solvang, senior HRW researcher.
“In the incidents, documented by Human Rights Watch, cluster
munitions killed at least six civilians and injured dozens.”